Friday NCAA Tournament Game Predictions, Lines & Betting Picks

The Mountain Hawks might be 14-3 ATS in their last 17 games overall, but the Dookies are going to want to put on a show here in their own backyard. They are a solid 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games after a SU loss, and after falling to FSU in the ACC Tournament, they should take it out on an overmatched Lehigh team.

The Irish are probably under-seeded, and the X-Men are probably overseeded. If the big time defense of Notre Dame can contain Tu Holloway, the Big East should prevail in this one. The Fighting Irish have already dismissed the Musketeers twice in the postseason since 2000, and they covered both games.

The Blue Jays are going to be the trendy choice in this one with Doug McDermott shooting the ball from all over the court. He’s the most talented guy out there, but Alabama’s team defense is stunningly good. Creighton has disappointed bettors in four tourney games in a row with ATS defeats – don’t look for this to be the exception!

Last year, the Blackbirds tried their best to run up and down the floor with North Carolina in a 1/16 game. They failed and failed miserably. This year though, they have some more experience, and they shouldn’t have been a No. 16 seed. MSU is a deserving top seed with a great 20-8 ATS mark in its last 28 games, but we still think that the 3-0 SU and ATS run that LIU went on in the NEC Tournament will serve it well.

Memphis is the trendy choice here, and a lot of teams think that it can run quite a long ways in this tournament. That being said, Saint Louis is a team that plays great defense and can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. The Billikens have covered nine out of 12 against C-USA teams, while the Tigers have failed to cover four in a row against the A-10. This is an upset waiting to happen.

Why, now doesn’t this look fishy? A #14 only dogged by 3.5 against a #3? Don’t say that it isn’t deserved. The Hoyas have a terrible history in the dance, going just 1-4 ATS in their last five, including a recent terrible loss to Ohio in the first round of the tourney two years ago in another 3/14 game. Belmont did nearly beat Duke this year in Cameron. This is the “big upset” that everyone is going to get right.

Here we go again… The higher seed favored in a 6/11 matchup. This is just a terrible draw for a young SDSU team, especially knowing that Scott Wood and the Wolfpack can really stroke the three-ball and run on momentum. NCSU has really turned it on down the stretch, going 5-0-1 ATS in its last six and 8-2-1 ATS in its last 11.

Though this is the type of game that the Noles would boot away, we think that the Bonnies just have no business being in this tournament in spite of the fact that it won the A-10 tourney. The FSU defense will shut this team down, and the garnet and gold will win and cover its sixth straight game!

The Longhorns are still waiting for that signature win that they never got. The Bearcats were able to get that win against Syracuse in the Big East Tournament, and they are definitely the better side in this one. J’Covan Brown is the only shot UT has, but that won’t cut it against this defense. There is a reason why the Longhorns are just 10-17-1 ATS this year.

The Bobcats know how to pull off the big upset, and they did so two years ago against Georgetown in fine form. This is a team that is going to have a tough time going against a gritty Michigan outfit that has a lot of potential. Ohio might have been winning games, but the competition was a lot easier, and the squad is still just 1-4 SU and 0-4-1 ATS in its last five games.

Norfolk State averaged just 69.0 points per game this year. And it thinks that it has any chance whatsoever of playing with a Missouri team that went 18-9-2 ATS this year while playing in arguably the toughest conference in America? To make matters even better for Mizzou, it is 6-0 ATS in its last six neutral sites clashes.

This is just a bad matchup for UVA. The team needs to be able to slow down the tempo to win, something that the Gators just won’t let happen. Neither team has done well of late; Florida had failed to cover five in a row before nearly upsetting Kentucky in the SEC Tournament, while Virginia has turned up on the wrong side of three in a row ATS. The orange and blue might find some confidence from that near miss against the Wildcats, though.

The Jayhawks feel like they are always struggling early in the NCAA tournament against teams that they have no business losing to. They are just 2-5 ATS in their last seven in the dance, and though they might have a bit of a tough time in this one, the Titans will eventually yield.

St. Mary’s just has the look of a tourney team. It can shoot from all over the place, and it is a team that is going to use its momentum to stifle opponents. If you think that the Gaels have been good in the WCC of late, check this out: They are 33-15-1 ATS in their last 49 non-conference games.